Posted: Tuesday, December 30, 2008 11:00 pm
Times-News staff
1. Burley's Band of Brothers
Their legend began in the fifth grade when they began beating teams of older kids. There was always something special about this group.
As they grew, so did their determination and savvy. The Burley High boys basketball team closed the final chapter of their collective high school basketball careers with an undefeated season that culminated with their second-consecutive Class 4A state championship trophy last March.
The Band of Brothers could possibly be the greatest high school hoops team ever assembled in the state of Idaho. The chronicling of their journey not only deserves selection as the Times-News' top sports story of 2008, but also ranks up there with the greatest Magic Valley sports stories of this generation.
They dominated with a 53-1 record over two seasons, including a 46-game winning streak. Perhaps the only thing more impressive than the Bobcats' on-court dominance was their off-court character. They're not only good basketball players, these were exemplary students, sons, brothers and friends.
Burley didn't have a soloist - it had the whole symphony. And point guard Colton Moon was the conductor. His heroic performance at the Idaho Center last March, in which he scored 30 points with seven 3-pointers, capped an illustrious high school career in which he was the best player in Idaho for two consecutive seasons. But he didn't do it alone. The Band of Brothers succeeded with balanced, team-oriented play. Casey Miller was a year older and Kyle Hepworth was a year younger. The meat of the team was the 2008 graduates of Jordan Hosteen, Braeden Clayson, Matt Baker, Ben Searle, Marcus Hoskins, Brad Caresia, and Kalen Smith.
Their legend ended just as it began: Unified. Dignified. And certainly something special.
2. CSI men's collapse
They started 26-0. They spent much of the season ranked No. 1. But in the biggest game of the season, the Golden Eagles came up short. The College of Southern Idaho men's basketball team suffered an 81-77 loss to Salt Lake Community College in the Region 18 Tournament championship game March 8, with late turnovers costing them a chance at victory. The Bruins went to finish as national runner-up, while the Golden Eagles were left with a 30-2 record and a feeling of what could have been.
3. Escape from Spartanville: Jerome-Minico thriller
It was The Stop, followed by The Drive, punctuated by The Catch. Minico had the ball with a three-point lead and less than four minutes to go, set up with first-and-goal from the Jerome 4. All the Spartans needed to do was ride Skylar "Poke" Morgan into the end zone to reach the state title game, but Jerome had other ideas. Twice Morgan was stopped, and an incomplete pass set up fourth down. Jerome stuffed Morgan again at the 2 to get the ball back, and went 98 yards the other way in the final 2:30. As time expired, Cameron Stauffer threaded a pass through three defenders to Ross Hillier, whose circus catch in the end zone gave Jerome the win and a berth in the Class 4A state championship game.
4. Four in the finals
The Magic Valley's final four: Jerome, Declo, Oakley and Carey. Each reached the state football championship games of their respective classifications - the most local teams to reach the final day of the high school football season in recent memory. Only Carey was able to bring home the top prize in Class 1A Division II, but the other three schools have nothing to hang their heads about. Jerome overcame three tough road games and losing its starting QB to reach the Class 4A title game. Declo's Class 2A championship game appearance was the first in school history. Oakley played for its second straight Class 1A Division I title after winning 25 consecutive games.
What's more, four other local schools reached the football state semifinals: Minico, Buhl, Raft River and Richfield. High school football in the Magic Valley is alive and well.
5. Barret's Bunch
The CSI men's basketball team had a record nine sophomores sign with NCAA Division I teams following a 30-2 campaign. Among the headliners, forward Juan Pattillo joined Oklahoma, while point guard Kevin Galloway headed to Kentucky and shooting guard Joey Shaw joined WAC power Nevada. Head coach Barret Peery also moved on, joining the University of Utah as an assistant coach, with CSI assistant Steve Gosar taking over the head coaching job for the Golden Eagles.
6. Twin Falls repeats for team titles in golf and boys cross country
Twin Falls High School brought home two more state championships in 2008, one in girls golf and one in boys cross country. The girls golf team earned its seventh team title this decade, beating Caldwell by nearly two dozen strokes. Despite having no runners finish in the top 10, the Bruin boys cross country team won its second straight Class 5A team championship. The Bruins finished 19 points ahead of runner up Boise.
7. Minico football - live and in your living room!
The Minico Spartans made school history by making their national television debut in September, defeating Colfax, Calif., in the Rocky Mountain Rumble at Holt Arena in Pocatello. The heroics of Skylar "Poke" Morgan and company was broadcast by Altitude Sports, which is seen in 10 states via cable providers and nationally on satellite services like Dish Network and DirecTV. The Spartans won 28-6 against a team whose program had posted a 123-21 record prior to the contest.
8. Thrill of victory/agony of defeat for CSI women: Softball wins region in second season, volleyball misses nationals, hoops women to nationals
No one had touched Salt Lake pitcher Lindsey Palmer all season. She was 28-0 heading into the Region 18 semifinal, but CSI touched her up not once, but twice. The capper was a 21-1 romp in the region title game, handing the Golden Eagles their first such crown in the program's second season. The CSI women's basketball team also won the region title and placed in the top 10 at the national tournament. CSI's volleyball team added the agony of defeat, sinking to an opening-round defeat at the Region 18 Tournament after being ranked as high as No. 2 in the nation.
9. Buhl beats Kimberly for 3A softball title
This tournament in Coeur d'Alene was supposed to be Kimberly's coronation, a fairly easy path to the championship game for freshman pitcher Nellie Makings and the rest of the Bulldogs. But when they unexpectedly lost in the first round their SCIC rivals from Buhl took full advantage, getting through to the title game unbeaten in the tournament. Kimberly managed to force a winner-take-all second championship game, but the stress of having to play six games in three days proved too big a mountain to climb, and Leslie Hunter and the Indians took home an improbable state championship.
10. Fourth time's a charm: Valley's Nelson, Burley's Blauer four-time state champs
Diana Blauer sailed over the high-jump bar to win her fourth state high-jump championship with ease, then she went on to break her own Class 4A state meet record to boot. Zandrea Nelson finished second in the two Class 2A events in which she was expected to, losing out narrowly in the 100- and 200-meter dash to Ellen Rouse of Orofino yet again, but she rebounded to win the event she owned all four years in high school, the 400 meters.
Best of the rest:
* Buhl's Autumn Yturbe scores 150th career goal. * Oakley football wins 25 games in a row. * Kimberly girls basketball goes unbeaten during regular season. * Class 1A splits into divisions for volleyball and basketball. * Next year's Class 4A Great Basin West Conference set, including additions of Twin Falls and Canyon Ridge high schools. * Twin Falls softball team second at 5A state tournament. * Jerome boys soccer unbeaten during regular season.